MLF Chapter & Verse

The Manchester Literature Festival Blog

Our Young Digital Reporter Aisha Sodawala learns about setting and sentimentality at André Aciman’s event. André Aciman, author of the critically acclaimed novel turned movie ‘Call Me By Your Name’, writes about desire, absence and longing in amazing prose. He never ceases to amaze me with his intricate descriptions of passions linking to innocence. In […]

Centre for New Writing student Matthew McGrogan hears about the breaking of boundaries at our event with Carys Davies and Sarah Moss. The sun emerged from behind the clouds as Katy Shaw welcomed Carys Davies and Sarah Moss to the International Burgess Foundation. Both novelists have recently celebrated the release of a new book — […]

Our Young Digital Reporter Elizabeth Gibson finds Rommi Smith & Dave Evans’ response to the Bodies of Colour exhibition at The Whitworth unsettling and thought-provoking. A year ago, I took part in a performance workshop with Rommi Smith and, looking back, it was a defining moment for me as a spoken-word artist. She taught me […]

Our Young Digital Reporter Ruth Jones is magnetised by Terrance Hayes’ political poetry. Stepping out of the cold October evening air and into the bustling Manchester Central Library would make anyone excited to hear such an innovative poet’s new collection. The room was packed with people of all ages, buzzing with conversation and the anticipation […]

Young Digital Reporter Urussa Malik enjoys a quietly powerful poetry event. Co-director of the Centre for New Writing, John McAuliffe introduced two writers working closely with the idea of memory and history. Nick Laird has recently published a new collection of poetry, Feel Free, where the idea of being free and not free flew across his […]

Young Digital Reporter Zarina Akhtar spends an evening celebrating the contradictions of Muriel Spark. It is on an autumnal Tuesday evening that we find ourselves at the Martin Harris Centre seated for a discussion about Muriel Spark. The audience, holding well-read and loved copies of Spark’s novels, including the The Prime of Jean Brodie, eagerly […]

Our Young Digital Reporter Elizabeth Gibson spends a remarkable and enchanting evening in the company of Michael Morpurgo. I am sure that I am far from the only young adult today whose early reading life was shaped by Michael Morpurgo. His books took me all over the world, and through time, to meet lions and […]